Moore

I watched the Michael Moore movie last night (thanks for the DVD, mom!) and my reactions were mixed. On the one hand, it’s certainly a fine piece of political spin, in support of an aim with which I agree (remove Bush from office, ASAP). On the other hand, I found the film’s methods a bit tiresome. Documentary is a pretty strong word for it, in my opinion. It had a message, it conveyed that message. It was well put together. Certainly spin, rather than history though.

There is a long section on how Bush remained at the front of the classroom filled with kids for 7 minutes after the first plane hit the WTC. Lingering shots of Bush looking concerned and confused, with Moore giving voice over of what Bush might have been thinking about (Oh God, I hope it’s not my buddies the Saudis). Two things just stuck in my mind, watching this:

(1) Bush knew that if there was any possibility of danger to him, the secret service would have yanked him faster than the Red Sox yank a pitcher. Therefore, he might well have been wondering “what is it that’s important enough to tell me…but not important enough to get me the hell out of here?

(2) What does Moore think he should have done? In those 7, 9 or however many minutes, before the situation became clear enough to scramble jets or shut down air traffic, what could Bush have done? Should he have run screaming from the room at the first sign of danger? Should he have ditched out of the classroom without telling the kids what was up? Excuse himself and go learn that his staff didn’t have the slightest idea what was going on? For God’s sake, on the information that Bush had at the time, it could have been anything from another USS Cole attack to a string of protests in CA.

The extensive harping on how political connections get you places may have been a shock to some people. but anyone who has read Hedrick Smith’s “The Power Game,” or who was paying the least bit of attention in High School Civics knows that this is simply the way it works. It’s not unique to America that money talks, that family ties are the best, and than access is power. Moore presents the business history of the Bushes like it’s some sort of moral failure. I would contend that no president has ever been elected without serious obligations to a large number of people. The bit about appointing a cushy ambassador job to a close friend who was already close with the ruling family of Saudi Arabia has a preachy moral tone that ignores the simple reality that this is how everyone from Lincoln to Clinton filled these spots.

My thoughts are not yet coherent on the film. Like I said: It is persuasive in a good cause (defeat Bush), but Palm d’Or? Not so sure. Moore evinces a naiveté that may or may not be genuine. Like someone who goes to a strip bar and then acts shocked that there are naked people in there, Moore looked at the makings of politics and didn’t like what he already knew he was going to find.